[Mike.]

Originally Posted by Douche

Particularly we couldn't care less how enthusiast you are. I am a plane enthusiast, I don't own an Airbus A380.

Would love to see that thread, "Just bought an airbus..Can I plastidip?"


to the Op:

dont settle/short change yourself just to "drive a bmw". Just because its 11k doesn't mean maintenance is cheap. It still needs to be maintained like a 55k thousand dollar car. This could have been already said, I didnt read the thread

[GMe90]

Originally Posted by VTECaddict

If what you truly want is a 335i, then save up for it. You will hate yourself for being impatient and getting a car you didn't really want.

This is great advice. If I had been more patient, I'd be driving a 911 or an Aston Martin Vantage right now. At least an M3. Patience is key, OP.

[stewey]

Looks nice! Biggest negatives I see are automatic, all wheel drive and high mileage. If you want an auto and awd, then compromising on mileage isn't crazy (although it will hurt maintenance and resale esp.) But, if you would prefer a manual or rwd, then I would keep looking.

[Kevin52]

I'll chime in-
Back in 2012 I purchased a cpo 2009 328i with 26 thousand miles. In the first 10 thousand miles the drivers side break light went out, the drivers side door lock actuator shit the bed, I had to replace the thermostat, and the drivers side headlight bracket. If I didn't have cpo that would have been at 3k after tax not including routine maintenance. My insurance rates were 180 a month with all of the discounts (when I was 18). Definitely something to consider.

[melloww22]

Get something you will love more than a year.

Make sure your choice fits your budget, driving style and vehicle attraction (looks)...

Good Luck

[Arian]

Originally Posted by BMB063

... 116,000 miles?? Maybe others disagree, but the only people who buy/drive high mileage BMWs are ones who are very mechanically inclined or maybe someone who has no idea what the car may need in maintenance. Once again, fair warning. There's a reason its so cheap...

Also, I thought you said you wanted a manual? That's an automatic.

Manuals in good condition just don't exist in my price range unfortunately. I'm probably going to to a paddle sifter install at one point.

[Arian]

Originally Posted by stewey

Looks nice! Biggest negatives I see are automatic, all wheel drive and high mileage. If you want an auto and awd, then compromising on mileage isn't crazy (although it will hurt maintenance and resale esp.) But, if you would prefer a manual or rwd, then I would keep looking.

I have found a good amount of manual 325i out there but they have all had something that just kills the sale. Like the dealer straight up said I'm not negotiating I will only take this price and the rear right window didn't work! Or another one had to have the head gasket replaced. Seems like the people that have the manual drive it till it breaks and dump it. The car is a coupe which is what I like. For AWD it dosent bug me to much, I already test drove it and I love the handling, also even if it is AWD im not racing (and I do go skiing alot so awd is a plus). And for automatic i think I may just do a paddle shifter retrofit and call it a day. I prefer manual by a landslide but like I stated nothing good has cropped up and I need a car soon since I sold my volvo a couple months ago. As for resale im planning on driving the car to the ground so im not super worried about that.

[trjn]

Originally Posted by Arian

I am still looking, I have just been inactive for a while (finals coming up). But, your post helps a lot. So for me sports package seems like a must to me. However, unfortunately all the priorities you listed may not be completely viable for me at my price. I did find this car though: http://www.amecaautopdx.com/2007_BMW..._254437660.veh hes a one man dealer (I think he keeps his cars in his friends lot) but its clean, drives, great, meets almost if not all of your priorities. It is a coupe, which like you stated will raise insurance... And I'm planning on getting it inspected tomorrow. So once I buy the car I'm planning on buying a good amount of tools, any specific suggestions to fill my toolbox, it would be great if you could list them in order of highest priority to lowest and give me a brief explanation of what it does and why I need it. I know that's asking a lot but it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If the car is maintained good, that price for 100k miles is not bad.
The tools you will need will be the metric sockets(shallow and deep), metric wrenches, ratchets of various sizes.
Most important tool will be a good torque wrench. Many people have broken a lot of bolts by over torquing.
Get a nice set of jack and jackstands and a pair of ramps.
It should get you started.

You can buy the tools as and when needed but its always good to buy a whole set and keep it rather than having to go buy every time.

Good luck.

[csu87]

Couple things

OP, if you cant afford to spend another 4-5k on this car, then dont do it. Not saying you will need to spend that much, but there are a few things on these e90s that if they break, and some of them do, then you are looking at about that much to repair.

As far as leasing vs financing, never lease unless it is your only option and there is nothing else you can do about it. There are so many rules and regulations with a lease, that you will end up breaking one of them and it will cost you. Also, you dont get to keep the car at the end. It is glorified renting. People that lease, cant afford to buy the car, and never get themselves ahead in terms of equity.

As far as financing goes, to say it is never wise to finance is incorrect. My financing terms are .9% for 36 months. My money makes way more than .9%/yr so instead of spending the full price of the car in cash, i let that cash make me more cash, and only pay a little bit of interest on my car loan (say my money earns 6%/yr. I am netting 5.1% after my loan interest rate). Now if your financing rate is higher than what your money can make you, then yes, dont finance.

[OutOfStep]

Originally Posted by xXSupa

Literally.

LOL. I've had a Mark VI GTI since 2010 with the APR software. 82,000 miles, original clutch, and one check engine light (last month) for an O2 sensor. Mine has been bullet proof.

[Meeni]

Do not spend all your money on buying a BMW. It will cost you approx. 2k/yr to keep it running. It can hit you hard with a surprise 1k/1k5 repairs that cannot wait tomorrow (water pump is the poster child for that). You need to be able to align 2k$ at short notice when you own a BMW.

Now, it is fun and all, and if you really want one, I'd advice you get a 330 E46, it'll leave you some cash on hand to fix it when it will need it.

[Arian]

Well i got the car. Runs in perfect condition, the mechanic said that the only thing i might need in the future is some struts and shocks but its not immediate. So I might get some koni yellows and H&R sports this summer. Doing some exhaust work this weekend (have not decided exactly what yet) and im looking forward to getting an m3 rep bumper and doing a paint match with the space grey metallic.

[trjn]

You bought the car and first thing you do is exhaust?
Unless it was broken, completely unnecessary immediately after purchase. And if it was broken, you should have used that as a leverage to bring the price down or get the seller to fix it.
After that your goals are to lower the car and M3 rep bumper?

Its your car, your money. But if I were you, I would do the water pump, thermostat, coolant flush, oil/filter, plugs, coil packs, air filter, cabin air filter, fuel filter, transmission fluid/filter, differential fluid, brake fluid and then think about about modding. I would first think about the control arms and bushings before I even think about lowering.

You know how much all of the above will cost you? More than the exhaust and suspension even if you DIY.
Any one of them breaks and you are sitting pretty with a modded car on the side of the highway. I would get my priorities straight if you are in a limited budget and don't have a back up car.

Again your car, your money. Preventative maintenance is key to happy ownership of a BMW, don't go modding before you bring the car to a state worth to mod.

[Arian]

Originally Posted by trjn

You bought the car and first thing you do is exhaust?
Unless it was broken, completely unnecessary immediately after purchase. And if it was broken, you should have used that as a leverage to bring the price down or get the seller to fix it.
After that your goals are to lower the car and M3 rep bumper?

Its your car, your money. But if I were you, I would do the water pump, thermostat, coolant flush, oil/filter, plugs, coil packs, air filter, cabin air filter, fuel filter, transmission fluid/filter, differential fluid, brake fluid and then think about about modding. I would first think about the control arms and bushings before I even think about lowering.

You know how much all of the above will cost you? More than the exhaust and suspension even if you DIY.
Any one of them breaks and you are sitting pretty with a modded car on the side of the highway. I would get my priorities straight if you are in a limited budget and don't have a back up car.

Again your car, your money. Preventative maintenance is key to happy ownership of a BMW, don't go modding before you bring the car to a state worth to mod.

Yea i decided not to do the exhaust, but the inspection said that the suspension is the first thing I should do so that's my first priority.

[bkwld]

Originally Posted by Arian

Well i got the car. Runs in perfect condition, the mechanic said that the only thing i might need in the future is some struts and shocks but its not immediate. So I might get some koni yellows and H&R sports this summer. Doing some exhaust work this weekend (have not decided exactly what yet) and im looking forward to getting an m3 rep bumper and doing a paint match with the space grey metallic.

You got the car! Congradulations. Its done. I'd would just get to know the car for few weeks before doing major mods and maybe some light cosmetic mods like tint and vinyl wrap chrome trims in the mean time.

[trjn]

Originally Posted by Arian

Yea i decided not to do the exhaust, but the inspection said that the suspension is the first thing I should do so that's my first priority.

If you didnt get any maintenance history, I would do the water pump first (along with thermostat and coolant flush). Peace of mind for another 50-70k.
Broken suspension is drivable, broken water pump kills the car.
Try and DIY everything, will save you a lot.
Good luck.